Thank you to Taryn for another daily devotional.
Daily Scripture Reading: Luke 1:57-66
Silence
When was the last time you were silent? Can we ever be truly silent in this day and age? If the weather is nice and you sit outside, you will not hear silence. You will hear the birds singing, leaves rustling, and cars passing (unless you live on a quiet street). When I wake up in the morning, I try to wake up gradually and sit in silence before my kids get up. Although in my “silence,” I hear the sound of the air or heat turning on, the dog and cats running around the house, other people stirring, and slightly muted outside noises listed above.
I do try to sit quietly every morning, but most of the time, I get distracted. Something will pop into my head that I will check on my iPad, like the weather, or my email, or my to-do list. Even when I’m in the midst of reading, it will make me think of something that I want to look up and I take a quick (or long) break to look it up before I forget. I made it a practice recently to set a timer on my watch for 5 minutes. I wanted to see if I could just close my eyes and sit quietly in the house without letting my mind wander. It’s really hard not to open your eyes and see what the pets are doing or to not make a mental to-do list while you are sitting there.
In the passage from day 11, Zechariah was sentenced to at least 9 months of silence. It was possibly even longer than that. Luke 1:23-24 says, “23And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden…” Zechariah still had to finish his service as a priest before he came home to his wife and she conceived. Could you imagine being silent for that long? I cannot. I can’t even make it 5 minutes most days! In the passage from today, Zechariah’s tongue was finally loosened when he declared via writing that his son’s name was to be John. Luke 1:64 says, “64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.” I cannot imagine the relief that Zechariah must have felt in finally being able to speak!
If you feel like you struggle with distractions and constant noise, my challenge for you today is to sit in silence, or as quiet as it can be living in town and with other pets or humans. Perhaps you already have a regular practice of sitting in silence. My challenge for you today is to try increasing the amount of time you are able to sit in silence. Perhaps you live alone and do not have pets, spouse, or children living with you. Maybe you already feel like you spend your entire day in silence. My challenge for you today is practice the rejoicing part. Reach out to a friend or someone near you and spend some time rejoicing in the fact that you can speak! Share what God has done for you recently!
Prayer:
Dear Lord, please let us feel just a portion of what it is to be silent, just like Zechariah. If we are regularly silent, please let us feel what it is like to rejoice with others, just like Zechariah. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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